Improvement in water-wheels



UNITED STATES JOHN C. MILLER, OF AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 54,937, dated May 22,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J oIIN C. MILLER, of Amsterdam, in the county ofMontgomery and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedWater-Wheel; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull,.clear, and eX- act description thereof, which will enable othersskilled in the art to make and use the same,

reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part ot' thiswhich- Figure l is a vertical section ot' my invention, taken in thelille .r x, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a horizontal section of the saine, taken inthe line y y, Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention relates to a new and improved Water-wheel of that classwhich are placed on a vertical shaft, receive the water at the center,and discharge it at their periphery.

The object of the invention is to give lthe water before it comes incontact with the buckets of the wheel, and while entering the wheel orpassing into the center of the same, a spiral direction, so that all thebenefit of the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the waterwill be made to act upon or be applied to the wheel, thereby materiallyaugmenting its power.

A represents a vertical shaft, which is fitted in a proper framing, B,and C is the wheel placed on said shaft. 'This wheel is composed .0f acircular bottom plate, a, between which, near its periphery, and a rim,b, at the top of the wheel, the buckets D areA placed. The buckets D areof curved form, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. the spacesbetween them gradually diminishing in width from their inner to theirouter ends.

F represents the scroll which conducts the water to the buckets. Thisscroll conducts specitication, in

the water within the wheel, and it isrof helical or spiral form, andmakes an entire revolution from its upper part or the commencement ofits curvature, which is some distance above the wheel to its lower end,whichis in contact with the bottom of the wheel. This helical or spiralscroll gives a circular direction to the water, causing it to enter thewheel with a rotary motion and in a proper direction relatively with thebuckets D. The water is not appreciably retarded by friction, and thecentrifugal force generated by the rotation of the water causes thelatter to act in the most 'efficient manner upon or against the wheel.

Other wheels of this class receive the water in a direct manner withoutany particular direction being' given it other than conducting it intothe wheel, and the column or stream is consequently broken and itseffective force considerably diminished.

I do not claim, broadly, a helical or spiral scroll for a waterlwheelirrespective ofthe arrangement of the scroll and its adaptation to thekind of wheel specitied; but

I do claim as new and desire t0 secure by Letters Patent- 1. As animprovement in water-wheels, the arrangement ot' the spiral or helicalscroll F and curved buckets C of the wheel D, when constructed andoperatin g in the manner and for the purpose herein speciiied.

2. The combination ot' the helical or spiral scroll, circular bottomplate, and curved buckets, when applied in connection with. a water Vwheel which receives the water at its center and discharges it from itsperiphery, in thc manner substantially as herein described.

The above speciiication of my invention signed by me this 29th day ofAugust, 1865.

l lJOHN O. MILLER. Witnesses: l

M. M. LIVINGSTON, G. L. ToPLIEF.

